A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide

This is a discussion on A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide within Technical Stuff, part of the Under the Hood category; Good work Prashant,
One question what is APC and what brand is hyperdresser.
-Ijeet...

He is not Prashant, he is PartasarathiG.
APC is Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, he gave me some sample and the product is amazing, it will reduce our cleaning efforts. I cleaned Alloy wheels and tyres and brake dust came out very easily.
Hyperdresser is Meguairs Hyper Dressing, applied to shine Tyres, Vinyl.

He is not Prashant, he is PartasarathiG.
APC is Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, he gave me some sample and the product is amazing, it will reduce our cleaning efforts. I cleaned Alloy wheels and tyres and brake dust came out very easily.
Hyperdresser is Meguairs Hyper Dressing, applied to shine Tyres, Vinyl.

He is not Prashant, he is PartasarathiG.
APC is Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, he gave me some sample and the product is amazing, it will reduce our cleaning efforts. I cleaned Alloy wheels and tyres and brake dust came out very easily.
Hyperdresser is Meguairs Hyper Dressing, applied to shine Tyres, Vinyl.

Edit: sorry for tiny images, uploaded from mobile

Hey thanks HighOctane for the name correction and the info.

Meguiars sells these products in India. I got it from Mr Nirmal aka nirmaljusdoit on this forum. He is a pro detailer and thus has stock of all these stuff.

Where are you located Ijeet?

Apc is an all purpose cleaner and can be used everywhere in the car including tyres wheels and engine bay plus interiors seats carpets etc.

Combine this with the Hyperdresser and you get a fantastic finish.

The best part is when you use it with sprayer, you require very miniscule amounts of it. And they can be diluted from 1:1 to 1:4 or even more. Ive used all in 1:4 concentration both APC and HD even for cleaning engine oil and grime stuck on my bikes alloys and belly pan.

And since its water based, its more environmentallu friendly is what I hear.

Meguiars sells these products in India. I got it from Mr Nirmal aka nirmaljusdoit on this forum. He is a pro detailer and thus has stock of all these stuff.

Where are you located Ijeet?

Apc is an all purpose cleaner and can be used everywhere in the car including tyres wheels and engine bay plus interiors seats carpets etc.

Combine this with the Hyperdresser and you get a fantastic finish.

The best part is when you use it with sprayer, you require very miniscule amounts of it. And they can be diluted from 1:1 to 1:4 or even more. Ive used all in 1:4 concentration both APC and HD even for cleaning engine oil and grime stuck on my bikes alloys and belly pan.

And since its water based, its more environmentallu friendly is what I hear.

Thanks once again Parthasarathig,

I am sorry for the mixing names again, don't knwo what I was thinking. I am based in C.V Raman Nagar, Bangalore. Can you please P mme the phone number of Nirmal if you don't mind.

Manas> it's a steal.
I think in India it's too expensive. I had to pay just for 2x80gms Meg clay bar Rs.1,318/= from Delhi supplier. I think it's better to source the prods thru' Amazon or e-bay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

Manas5 did you ship it directly to India or had it sent to someone in the US who carried it over?

If this price is with shipping to India then you've got an amazing deal mate. Please let us know.

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Thanks a fantastic deal Manas. Would love to hear how you procured it? Did someone carry it for you or did you get it shipped.

Its way more expensive here. Plus availability of clay is always an issue.

Hi Guys,
Yes. I ordered from amazon, got it shipped in US and then carried it here. I've been looking out for clay bars since a long time. But found them a little too expensive here. So headed to amazon and was surprised to see the price there. I'm planning to wash and clay my car over the weekend. Will be posting the results soon

Some cleaning soap? or some other product which we have to buy from Karcher?

Its Karcher very own soap in an assorted attachment which comes with higher & costlier range of high pressure cleaners. Basically of no use, since even the lower range products have a pipe provided which can be used to draw soap/detergent which is mixed with the water. I have it in mine Karcher K2.180.

Popped a minor dent from the front left fender lovingly left by the rear wheel arch of a Force Trax. Took out the headlamp and a small push from inside did the trick.

Washed & shampood the car using the SKIL pressure washer (it's a lifesaver - I wonder how I managed without it for so long!). After drying with the chamois, noticed thousands of small paint spots on the car - courtesy the ignorant painter who painted a portion of my house but forgot to cover up the car.

Spent the rest of the day till 3:30 claying the entire car to remove the paint spots, and other bonded items. Also removed the 'traded paint' from the dent area using nail polish remover, and compounded that area using DA power system (maroon pad) on a bosch drill and Megs UC.
After the claying session, the paint felt smooth as silk. There are still few paint deformations, mainly on the roof, that would require wet sanding and repainting (from 2 years of accumulated bird droppings, tree sap and casual 'cleaning').

Had to get out with the car (to my utter frustration) for a last minute invitation, and in the process, caked it with dust again.

Sunday:
Washed & shampooed the car again. After drying, started polishing with Sonax polish using the yellow pad. The application, buffing and final wipedown went on till 3:30 PM. I let the polish cure for an hour, and started waxing using collinite 845 on black pad. Finally completed at around 6 PM.

My body, especially my back is aching like anything for operating a drill / DA for so long, and that too first time - but the result makes the pain worth it!

Planning to order original california duster to keep washing to a minimum till the monsoons - then it's a different ball game.

Nice Write up !!!
Does your Skil pressure washer has soap foam bottle ?
Can we see the outcome of your efforts ?

I was too tired to take pictures, and light was also fading. Perhaps I can try to get some picture this coming weekend after a regular wash. Expect the collinite to provide superb beading.

The pressure washer has the soap foam bottle, but I did not try that out. What I do is do a pre shampoo rinse with water, do the 2 bucket method cleaning with a MF wash mitt, and again rinse the car clear of the suds before wiping it dry. I'll try to use the soap foam bottle this week.

My body, especially my back is aching like anything for operating a drill / DA for so long, and that too first time - but the result makes the pain worth it!

100% agreed upon. The final outcome overshadows the pain taken to achieve it. My black Vento which would be 2 yrs old in a month, looks just out of showroom. People think its a brand new car and are surprised when I tell them the real age of car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackasta

Planning to order original california duster to keep washing to a minimum till the monsoons - then it's a different ball game.

My suggestion get a Jopasu Car duster, costs 1/4th of the Original California duster and does the same job. Order through Snapdeal for a COD and save another 13% on MRP of Rs. 575.

I have a cousin who uses regular shampoo (1 rupee sachets) for cleaning his car and bikes. I asked him why and he says he feels the shampoo will not affect or damage the paint and rubber beading. Is this true. If so, do we really need to use the more expensive car shampoos. If not, what damage can regular shampoo cause. Look forward to feedback from the genii on this forum

I have a cousin who uses regular shampoo (1 rupee sachets) for cleaning his car and bikes. I asked him why and he says he feels the shampoo will not affect or damage the paint and rubber beading. Is this true. If so, do we really need to use the more expensive car shampoos. If not, what damage can regular shampoo cause. Look forward to feedback from the genii on this forum

Hair Shampoo has chemicals that affect paint. It removes the clear coat and over a period time, would fade away the paint.

Car Shampoos are mild enough not to remove the wax and other sealants. they just lift off the grime from the surface.

What would it do to your scalp then? Hair shampoo is pretty mild, much milder than, for instance, washing-up liquid. None-the-less, better to use a cleaning agent designed for the surface that it is going to be used on. An aggressive detergent might indeed remove the wax people lovingly apply to their cars (detergents remove oils) but I find it hard to think that it will take the paint off.

It might be worth spending money on detailing, finishing, polishing, etc, compounds --- but I think that high-price detergents are a con. If it gets the dirt off, it's fine by me: if it doesn't then it's useless anyway. The emperor has no clothes!